Properties of some commonly used coordinate systems

QMapTool (QMT) offers a list of predefined coordinate systems for referencing raster maps. This list is taken from the GDAL sources. Some commonly used coordinate systems (especially some used in Germany) are not contained in this list. The purpose of this page is to provide basic information about some of these coordinate systems. The Proj.4 settings can then be used directly in the QMT reference tool.

The information collected on this page is taken from the following sources:

and from files in the nad subdirectory of the Proj.4 source distribution.

For a known EPSG code its features can be obtained by calling

testepsg epsg:9999

where testepsg.exe is located in the bin subdirectory of the GDAL package or in the QMapTool/QMapShack installation path for Windows OS and where 9999 is the EPSG code.

Attention: This list shows some coordinate systems that use lat/lon coordinates (those using +proj=longlat and labeled "Geographic", too). Although these coordinate systems are not supported in the setup of maps in QMapShack they can be used within QMapTool.

EPSG 4326: WGS84, geographic

Unit: degree
Geodetic CRS: WGS 84
Datum: World Geodetic System 1984
Ellipsoid: WGS 84
Prime meridian: Greenwich
Area of use: World
Alias names:
Comments:
Proj.4: +proj=longlat +datum=WGS84 +no_defs

EPSG 4178: Pulkovo 42/83 (Krassowski), geographic

Unit: degree
Geodetic CRS: Pulkovo 1942(83)
Datum: Pulkovo 1942(83)
Prime meridian: Greenwich
Ellipsoid: Krassowski 1940
Area: Onshore Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany (former GDR), Hungary and Slovakia
Alias names: Pulkovo 1942(83)
Comments: In Brandenburg replaced by ETRS89. In Sachsen and Thuringen replaced by RD83 and PD83 which for practical purposes may be considered to be the same as DHDN.
Proj.4: +proj=longlat +ellps=krass +towgs84=26,-121,-78,0,0,0,0 +no_defs

EPSG 4258: ETRS 89 (GRS80), geographic

Unit: degree
Geodetic CRS: ETRS89
Datum: European Terrestrial Reference System 1989
Prime meridian: Greenwich
Ellipsoid: GRS80
Area: Europe
Alias names:
Comments:
Proj.4: +proj=longlat +ellps=GRS80 +towgs84=0,0,0,0,0,0,0 +no_defs

EPSG 4314: DHDN

Unit: degree
Geodetic CRS: DHDN
Datum: DHDN
Prime meridian: Greenwich
Ellipsoid: Bessel 1841
Area: Germany
Alias names:
Comments: used by EPSG:5678 DHDN / 3-degree Gauss-Kruger zone 4 (E-N) (map) and similar systems

Proj.4: +proj=longlat +datum=potsdam +no_defs

also:

        +proj=longlat +ellps=bessel +towgs84=598.1,73.7,418.2,0.202,0.045,-2.455,6.7 +no_defs

EPSG 4745: RD83

Unit: degree
Geodetic CRS:
Datum: Rauenberg 83
Prime meridian: Greenwich
Ellipsoid: Bessel
Area: Sachsen
Alias names:
Comments: same as DHDN
Proj.4: +proj=longlat +ellps=bessel +no_defs

EPSG 4746: PD83

Unit: degree
Geodetic CRS:
Datum: Potsdam 83
Prime meridian: Greenwich
Ellipsoid: Bessel 1841
Area: Thüringen
Alias names:
Comments: same as DHDN
Proj.4: +proj=longlat +ellps=bessel +no_defs

EPSG 5678: DHDN / 3-degree Gauss-Kruger zone 4 (E-N)

Unit: meter
Geodetic CRS: DHDN
Datum: DHDN
Prime meridian: Greenwich
Ellipsoid: Bessel 1841
Area: Germany
Alias names: DHDN / 3GK zone 4
Comments: 10° 30' - 13° 30', used in German Meßtischblatt, Einheitsblatt 1:100000, ...
Proj.4: +proj=tmerc +lat_0=0 +lon_0=12 +k=1 +x_0=4500000 +y_0=0 +ellps=bessel +towgs84=598.1,73.7,418.2,0.202,0.045,-2.455,6.7 +units=m +no_defs

EPSG: 5679: DHDN / 3-degree Gauss-Kruger zone 5 (E-N)

Unit: meter
Geodetic CRS: DHDN
Datum: DHDN
Prime meridian: Greenwich
Ellipsoid: Bessel 1841 (EPSG::7004)
Area: Germany
Alias names: DHDN / 3GK zone 5
Comments: 13° 30' - 16° 30'
Proj.4: +proj=tmerc +lat_0=0 +lon_0=15 +k=1 +x_0=5500000 +y_0=0 +ellps=bessel +towgs84=598.1,73.7,418.2,0.202,0.045,-2.455,6.7 +units=m +no_defs

EPSG 32632: WGS 84 / UTM zone 32N

Unit: meter
Geodetic CRS: WGS84
Datum: WGS84
Prime meridian: Greenwich
Ellipsoid: WGS84
Area: 6° - 12° E
Alias names:
Comments: 6° strips. Zone counting starts at 177° W
Prj.4: +proj=utm +zone=32 +datum=WGS84 +units=m +no_defs

EPSG 2398: Pulkovo 1942(83) / 3-degree Gauss-Kruger zone 4

Unit: meter
Geodetic CRS:
Datum: Pulkovo 1942/83
Prime meridian:
Ellipsoid: Krassowski 1940
Area: Czech Republic - west of 13°30'E. Germany - states of former East Germany onshore - between 10°30'E and 13°30'E - Brandenburg; Mecklenburg-Vorpommern; Sachsen; Sachsen-Anhalt; Thuringen.
Alias names:
Comments:
Proj.4: +proj=tmerc +lat_0=0 +lon_0=12 +k=1 +x_0=4500000 +y_0=0 +ellps=krass +towgs84=26,-121,-78,0,0,0,0 +units=m +no_defs

EPSG 3857: WGS 84 / Pseudo-Mercator

Unit: meter
Geodetic CRS: WGS84
Datum: WGS84
Prime meridian: Greenwich
Ellipsoid: WGS84
Area: World
Alias names:
Comments: Web Mercator, Google Web Mercator, Spherical Mercator, WGS 84 Web Mercator or WGS 84/Pseudo-Mercator is the de facto standard for Web mapping applications. It is used by virtually all major online map providers, including Google Maps, Bing Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapquest, Esri, Mapbox, and many others. Similar: EPSG 3785.

Choose World Mercator (OSM) projection and WGS84 datum in QMS/QMT to get this coordinate system.
Proj.4: +proj=merc +a=6378137 +b=6378137 +lat_ts=0.0 +lon_0=0.0 +x_0=0.0 +y_0=0 +k=1.0 +units=m +nadgrids=@null +wktext +no_defs

EPSG 3395: WGS 84 / World Mercator

Unit: meter
Geodetic CRS: WGS84
Datum: WGS84
Prime meridian: Greenwich
Ellipsoid: WGS84
Area: World
Alias names:
Comments: Euro-centric view of world excluding polar areas. Choose Mercator projection and WGS84 datum in QMS/QMT to get this coordinate system.
Proj.4: +proj=merc +a=6378137.0000 +b=6356752.3142 +towgs84=0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 +units=m +no_defs

or also:

+proj=merc +lon_0=0 +k=1 +x_0=0 +y_0=0 +ellps=GRS80 +towgs84=0,0,0,0,0,0,0 +units=m +no_defs

+proj=merc +lon_0=0 +k=1 +x_0=0 +y_0=0 +datum=WGS84 +units=m +no_defs

(for explicit ellipsoid description see here.)

EpsgOverview - Maproom/qmapshack GitHub Wiki

Properties of some commonly used coordinate systems

⚠️ GitHub.com Fallback ⚠️

EpsgOverview - Maproom/qmapshack GitHub Wiki

Properties of some commonly used coordinate systems

⚠️ **GitHub.com Fallback** ⚠️

⚠️ GitHub.com Fallback ⚠️